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Encourage Students to Express Their Feelings, Experts Suggest

Experts on children’s mental health last week urged adults to encourage students to talk about the space-shuttle deaths and to be receptive listeners.

And they cautioned that over the next few weeks, children may become fearful, misbehave, or develop such somatic symptoms as headaches and stomachaches. Students may daydream, have problems sleeping, express feelings of futility, or show a decline in the quantity and quality of their schoolwork, they said.

Being actual witnesses to the fiery tragedy on television, experts agreed, may have a powerful...